Through the Magic Portal
by Artistic Ane
Summary: The eleventh story of Jeanne's Fairy Tail. Jeanne returns home from a long mission, only to watch as Magnolia seemingly disappears. And when the lost prince finally reveals himself, he sends her and Lucy on a mission of their own. How will they fare? How can they win?
1. Adventure Ho!

I grinned uncontrollably in the pouring rain. I probably looked insane to any innocent passersby, but honestly, I did not care. It had taken me much longer than I had anticipated to track down the group of thieves, so I had spent two and a half excruciatingly long weeks away from home, but now I was finally returning. At that thought, I laughed excitedly, threw my face to the crying skies and spun around in circles.

' _Just up this crest, and I should see home!'_

And there it was, my beautiful Magnolia. Through the downpour I could see South Gate Park, and the Cathedral, and of course, Fairy Tail. I stared out at the wonderful city with pride and happiness. Maybe the rain was making me kind of feverish and acting silly, but at that moment, I didn't care. I just smiled at the city.

Before that beam of light came out of nowhere.

Hitting my home.

Destroying it.

I stared in horror as Magnolia, Fairy Tail, all my friends and my family disintegrated into _nothing_. Not even the rain remained.

Nothing was left but a sandy crater.

My legs trembled, my hands shook violently, and my mouth was open in a silent scream. But it wasn't long before something came out.

"Mama! Papa! _NO!_ "

I shrieked as I began running toward where the city should have been. It had taken far too long to reach where the city gates would have been. I raced to where my family's home used to be, hoping to find some sort of clue.

I found nothing there.

I spun around, frantically searching for anyone, anything! Tears began to run down my face, and I started babbling in mixed Japanese and French. Was I truly alone?

Then my eyes caught something. Near where the guild would have been, I saw something rise out of the sand. I began racing towards it. The closer I got, the clearer the shape became.

"Lucy- **san**!" I called out.

Lucy spun around to face me as the grandfather clock disappeared. I figured that was one of her Celestial Spirits.

"Jeanne- **san**? What are you doing here?" she asked, surprise filling her face.

"I only just got back, but never mind that! What just happened? And where's everyone else? One moment I'm looking at the city, and the next it all just vanishes right before my eyes!"

Lucy nodded in thought. "Hm, Horologium had said that he felt space and time being malformed, so he sheltered me in a different space. I guess that's why I'm safe. But, where could everyone else be? Natsu, Erza, Gray, Wendy…"

"My family," I whispered, knowing how she felt. "I don't know… Wait, who's Wendy?"

Lucy blinked in surprise before nodding in realization. "Oh, you were gone when we returned. She came with us after we destroyed the Oración Seis."

I sighed in relief. "Well, I'm glad that your mission was successful, but could you tell me all about it after we find out what the hell happened to Magnolia?"

She nodded in grim determination. "Yes, let's look around. Maybe we'll find something in all this dust."

"Lucy, de'Vajell, so you two are safe."

Lucy and I whipped our heads towards the new voice. Mystogan was slowly walking towards us. I stared at his unmasked face. Why would he reveal himself now?

"Who-who are you?" Lucy demanded, suspicious.

"Ah, right," he sighed. "We've never been introduced. I am Mystogan. Though, I am also known by another name." He glanced my way. "De'Vajell, I feel you'll already know some of what I'm about to say."

Then I remembered what I had seen years ago.

"You mean…" I whispered, hands trembling. "Was Magnolia taken to…?"

He closed his eyes, and nodded silently.

I ran up to him and grabbed at the front of his cloak.

"Jeanne- **san**?" Lucy cried in surprise.

I bared my teeth as I glared at the blue-headed mage before me. "Alright, **votr'altesse** , I have said nothing about your secrets since I've laid eyes on you three years ago, so I'm giving you three seconds to tell me, _how do I get my family back?!_ "

"Jeanne- **san** , hold on a sec!" Lucy grabbed my arms and pulled me back. "We shouldn't attack our **nakama** like that!"

"I'm calling bull on that, Lucy!" I snarled at her, again, in my worry and anger, dropping the honorific. "If this guy knows a way to get everyone back home safe and sound, then-"

Mystogan interrupted me. "De'Vajell. You should realize how this looks to Lucy. Remember that you're not the only one who has lost loved ones."

The reminder was a bitter pill to swallow, but one look at Lucy, who still seemed terrified, made me realize how selfish I was being. It also made me see that I was not acting like myself, and probably scaring her more. Casting a glance at the ground, I muttered my apologies.

Mystogan addressed the Mage beside me. "Lucy, this will come as a shock to you. I am from a world called Edolas. It is of a different plane of existence than this one. In that world, magic is a finite resource, and so they've been stealing it from this world. This," he concluded, gesturing around us, "is the result of that thievery."

Lucy stared at him in stunned silence for a few seconds before doing her natural freak-out.

"What the heck are you talking about?!" she shrieked.

"There is no time for a thorough explanation," Mystogan continued, looking up to the sky. "If we do not hurry, the entrance to Edolas will be sealed off."

Lucy and I blinked in surprise. "Wait a sec," the blonde started. "Are you saying you want _us_ to go to this Edolas place?"

"Yes," Mystogan said seriously. "I want you to save our friends. I will remain here and search for anyone else who may have survived." From inside his cloak, he pulled out a small glass bottle of round, pink candies. Uncapping it and pouring two of them in his hand, he said, "Eat this."

"Wait, what?" I asked suspicious. Prankster siblings have made me wary of anything that was demanded of me to eat.

"What's that?" Lucy asked at the same time.

Mystogan used the chance to toss the candies into our open mouths as we spoke. Lucy made a face as she swallowed. I started to cough after it fell down my throat. It didn't taste horrible, or anything, just went down too fast.

"There is no time," Mystogan repeated, unlatching a staff from behind him and holding it out. "Hurry!"

"Wait a sec!" Lucy cried. "Give us more details!"

"You can't just send us in blind!" I protested.

"I'm counting on the two of you, Lucy, Jeanne."

A bright light illuminated our feet, and I could feel my body being pulled by a strange force. Suddenly, I had no feeling other than air rushing past me. I could hear Lucy screaming right beside me, but I could see nothing. I think I had my eyes closed. I know I felt sick.

Suddenly, the feeling of moving vanished. But I still felt unsafe, though I was uncertain why. I kept my eyes shut, using my hands to feel my surroundings. It seemed like we had landed on a rock pile. I heard Lucy gasp next to me.

"Is this… Edolas?"

That's when I noticed… my feet were not touching anything!

I opened my eyes, and found myself looking at a strange sight. The sky was a sickly yellow. Islands of land were floating all around.

And Lucy and I were stuck to the bottom of one them! I could see nothing below us but clouds!

"Kya!"

I screwed my eyes shut again, clutched frantically at the rocky terrain, grabbed hold of a protruding root and proceeded to squeeze the life out of it.

' _Ohcrap ohcrap ohcrapcrapcrap!'_

"Jeanne- **san**? Are you alright?"

"No!" I cried. "Do you not notice where we are?!" My breathing grew quick and frantic, and I was terrified my palms were about to sweat and I'd lose my grip.

"Jeanne- **san** , by any chance, are you… afraid of heights?"

I slowly opened one eye to glare at her. "Not exactly of heights, I just don't look forward to the landing part…" I turned my head away from her, looking up at the top of the island. "Especially if I can't see the ground," I added with a whimper.

"Well, then let's start climbing up," Lucy said determinedly.

' _Easy for you to say!'_

"Jeanne- **san** , do you think you can move?" Lucy asked kindly.

"Just… give me a moment," I replied. "I need to mentally prepare myself."

I shut my eyes again, and took a few deep breaths.

"Actually," Lucy began thoughtfully, "you can just let go."

I snapped my eyes open and whipped my head to face her. "Are you _insane?!_ " I shrieked.

She pointed down below us. "Look, there _is_ land underneath. And I think I can figure out a way to help with the landing part."

I took her word for it; no way was I going to look again!

"Lucy- **san** …" I whimpered. "I… I don't know if I…"

"Jeanne- **san** , trust me." Lucy looked at me, her brown eyes full of determination. "I won't allow my **nakama** to be harmed. Just trust me."

She held out her hand, wobbling precariously on her ledge. Without thinking, I grabbed at her with one arm to keep her steady. She smiled gratefully. I bit my lip.

"I trust you, Lucy- **san** ," I began. "But that doesn't mean I'm not scared out my brains." I took a deep breath. "So, I'm apologizing in advance if I end up hurting you."

She nodded in understanding. "Alright, let go in three, two, one."

The two of us plummeted down.

* * *

 _A/N: Hello everybody! Welcome to Game The- wait. Sorry, wrong thing._

 _Thank you for reading the first chapter of Jeanne's latest adventure, the Edolas Arc! I know some of you were expecting/hoping for the Dragonoid arc, buuuut...no. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't like that story when I first saw it, was actually kinda glad to learn that Mashima didn't write it, and because of that, I just skipped it. Daphne was annoying, the fact that Natsu would forget such an important promise rubbed me the wrong way, and don't even get me started on Gray's 'betrayal!'  
Okay, rant over. Sorry about that._

 _Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this story, and I hope you don't wait too long for the next installment._

 _Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!_

 _~Ane (:_


	2. Small Talk

I screamed as I watch the ground get closer and closer, clutching at Lucy's arm frantically. It was one of my worst nightmares coming true!

"Jeanne- **san**! I need to grab my key!" Lucy cried, struggling against my grip.

I screwed my eyes shut and released her arm.

"Open, gate of the Ram! Aries!"

I heard a loud 'poof!' and a timid, "I'm sorry!" It sounded adorable, but I was _not_ looking yet!

"Aries! Would you please help us with the landing?" Lucy yelled over the wind.

"Of course, if you'd like," came the nervous reply. " **Wool bomb**!"

I had curled into myself as the wind turned me over and over. I bit down on my lip so hard, I tasted blood. A soft hand grabbed at my arm.

"Prepare for impact, Jeanne- **san**!" Lucy cried.

I gasped deeply as I imagined our demise.

I prepared for sudden stop…

…and landed on something so deliciously soft, I was certain I had already died and went to Heaven.

"Jeanne- **san** , are you alright?"

I opened my eyes, and my vision was filled with pink.

"Did we die?" I asked, my voice embarrassingly hoarse.

Lucy chuckled a bit. "No, we didn't, thanks to Aries. Thank you so much, Aries. You may return, if you'd like."

"Th-thank you, Lucy. I'm h-happy to be of service."

I lifted my head up in time to see a really cute lady with ram horns and a short wool dress disappear. Lucy watched her return to the Celestial plane with a small smile on her face.

"L-Lucy- **san**?" I whispered.

The blonde turned her head to me, and she extended a hand. "Are you alright, now?" she asked kindly.

I took her hand gingerly, and allowed her to pull me up. I looked back up to the place from where we fell. I couldn't even see the island properly. I inhaled deeply.

"Lucy- **san** ," I began calmly, "I know you don't know me very well, so I'm sorry if this freaks you out a bit. But I need to let this out. **Merde, nous avons failli mourir! Oh, mon Dieu, oh, mon** _ **Dieu!**_ _**Putain!**_ " I was screaming out profanities that would have had my mother die of shock and my father kill me.

" **Qu'est-ce que tu pensiez, faire quelque chose d'aussi fou que ça? Je suis content que tu ayez raison, mais** _ **merde,**_ **Lucy! Nous avons failli** _ **mourir!**_ "

I collapsed to the ground, kneeling on the dirt, breathing heavily. I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

"Are you good now?" Lucy asked kindly.

I nodded shakily. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm sorry for blowing up like that. Please pardon my French." I looked up at her. "I really, _really_ don't like falling."

Lucy nodded. "I understand."

After a few more deep breaths, I stood up again. Then a thought struck me. Lucy had been raised basically as a princess. I'd be willing to bet she had had some foreign language studies. So… "Um, Lucy- **san**? Just how much of that did you understand?"

"Hm? Oh, every word." She laughed at the face of horror I gave her. "Don't worry about it, though, I won't tell your sister. You were scared. Simple as that."

I gave a little scoff. "Won't tell Rita? She might end up finding out anyways." Mentioning Marguerite reminded me of why we came. Not that either of us had really forgotten. "So, what now?" I asked. "Jellal has left us here, stranded, and neither of us have a clue on how to get around."

Lucy started turning about, surveying the wasteland we were in. "I guess the best thing to do is find out if we can find the others. So, I guess we just start walking." She shut her eyes, and began spinning around in place. Suddenly, she stopped, swaying quite a bit, facing to my left, and opened her eyes. "This way, then," she said with a smile.

I raised a brow. "Um, any particular reason why?"

"Just taking a chance," was the casual reply. "I may not look it, but I'm actually quite lucky!" She laughed, and a look of nostalgia crossed her face.

"Do you say that often?" I asked, walking by her side.

She nodded. "Yes, it's something I'd say quite a lot when I was first starting out on my own. There were a few times when I didn't know what to do, when I thought about just giving up, but then… something always happened to make things bright again." She smiled softly. "Maybe it's luck, or maybe someone's watching over me."

' _Well, that's kind of silly of you, Lucy. Of_ _course_ _, it's your mother! She would do everything she could to keep you safe, right?'_

"So, um," I began, "how did you all take down Oración Seis? When did you all get back?"

Lucy frowned in thought for a moment. "Well, it didn't really take _long_ to take Nirvana down, we managed it in about two days. It was just a struggle to to actually accomplish it."

"Wait, 'Nirvana?' Isn't that a term of enlightenment? Why would you…?"

"Yeah, I found that pretty ironic," Lucy admitted. "Something that had caused so much misery named such a thing? Someone had a sense of humor."

And as we walked, Lucy told me the mission she and the others were assigned, starting from meeting the strange and flirty Blue Pegasus members, all the way to the truth of Wendy Marvel's guild. There were times she couldn't tell me the whole story - she had blacked out, apparently, when confronting the stellar spirit mage, Angel, and of course, she could only repeat what others had told her of their experiences - but she did her best to fill the blanks, and I did my best to not interrupt. However, I kind of failed at that toward the end, when she mentioned that the Rune Knights had come to arrest Jellal.

"What?" I yelled. "He had died, but he didn't _actually_ die, the Sky Dragon Slayer revived him, Erza _finally_ nearly gets the closure she damn well deserves, but the freakin' _government_ swoops in and ruins everything?" I was fuming at the end of my rant. Somewhere in the back of my head, I realized that Lucy was seeing a lot of the side of me that I had been trying for so long to keep under control - yells what she thinks, regardless of the consequences… But _I_ cared about the consequences, so I quickly shut my trap.

' _Jeanne, you had better get yourself under control! You have been showing way too damn much. First Levy, then Erza, now Lucy… It won't be long before someone attacks you again because you said something you shouldn't have.'_

"He had done some serious crimes," Lucy reminded me. "Infiltrating the council, essentially declaring war. Honestly, I was surprised to see him in Magnolia. I figured, there was no way that could be him." She blinked, as if suddenly recalling something. "Hang on, did you know he wasn't… Wait, you called him Jellal."

I faltered in my steps. "Huh?"

"Before we came here, you called Mystogan Jellal. How do you know Jellal's face?"

I shrugged, hopefully in a casual manner. "He _was_ a member of the Council, Lucy- **san**. My mother followed their rules religiously, as long she as she liked the members. So she'd do quite a bit of research on each of them, to discern their alignment, I guess. Actually," I continued, remembering something, "she's never liked him. Mama was always very suspicious of Jellal when she couldn't really find out where he came from."

"A mother's intuition, huh?" Lucy laughed.

"Something like that," I chuckled, relieved she didn't ask for anything more. Everything I had told her was the truth. I just didn't answer the question truthfully.

"Is your mother a mage?" Lucy asked. "What does she do?"

"No, neither of my parents are mages. But Mama's father was, and he tried to train her to force the Talent on her."

At that, Lucy gasped and covered her mouth in shock. "Is she all right? How on earth did she…?"

I gave a light chuckle at how seriously she took this. "She's fine, Lucy- **san**. Meditation never hurt anyone."

"Meditation…?"

"Yeah, to help focus on the power. It just never worked for her, 'cause she has none. That's all you really have to do. Focus on your power and will it to grow. That's what Mama does, actually. Even if she can't use magic, she trains children. She's trained me and all my siblings, if they want to do magic."

"If they want… What?" Lucy was confused about something, and I wasn't entirely sure what.

"Well, for example, Bellamy. We don't know if he has powers or not. Mama starts asking us if we wanna train when we turn six. Bay said he wasn't sure. When he was almost seven, he decided no. And that was the end of that," I concluded. "Mama didn't train him, and we have no idea if he has the Talent or not."

"Wow," Lucy breathed. "But, isn't it dangerous to not train if he does? Have the Talent, I mean."

"Well, none of us has exploded yet," I answered. "I guess Mama just doesn't want to force anyone like she was."

We walked on in a comfortable silence for a while. But, I guess Lucy didn't think it was all that comfortable.

"So… how many of your siblings do practice magic?" she asked.

I looked up to the sky to remember all the names and talents. "Well, there's me with my Concealing, Aubin with Silver Tongue, Rita with Telepathy, Martel and his Archive, Lucien and Healing, and… that's it for now. Elise is eight, and she's too easily distracted to harness magic, according to Mama. She's only truly focused when she runs, anyway. And Yvette is six, and she's trying, trying hard, but we think she just might not have any Talent at all."

"Is that disappointing?"

"Maybe for her," I shrugged. "But honestly, she will get over it. Yvette's like that. Eventually, she'll realize that it leaves her with more time to study. I've never seen such a young child so absorbed in books before!"

"Really? I loved reading when I was little!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Did you read stories, or academic books? For fun." I clarified.

Lucy was a little taken aback by the question. "Well, for fun, it was stories," she admitted.

"For Yvette, it's the scholarly books that are fun for her. Currently her obsession is Runes. And she sucks at it, and it frustrates her," I laughed. "We're constantly reminding her that she's only six!"

Lucy looked at me with a gentle smile. "You know, you should talk about your siblings more often," she remarked. "When you do, you have the brightest smile I've ever seen you wear."

I blinked. Huh?

"You said your mother was pregnant, right? How is she doing?"

"Uh…" I had to mentally search for the proper train of thought she was riding on. "Well, she's, um, around halfway done. And we know the gender."

"Oh, really?" Lucy squeaked. "May I ask what it is?"

I laughed at the excitement that shone in the blonde's brown eyes. "It's a boy. We're having troubles with the names, though. Papa wants a strong name, but Mama's not sure that he'll be pleased with anything after Ambroise. His name means 'immortal.' How can you get stronger than that?"

"I'm afraid I'm horrible at name-choosing," Lucy admitted. "I can barely pick names for my…" She stopped herself, and looked down at the ground, blushing a little.

I knew, of course, to what she was referring: her novel. I didn't think there was anyone in the guild who didn't know she was writing one. Natsu had a pretty big blabbermouth. And everyone also knew that Levy had first dibs on reading it.

However, I didn't know if she would care that I knew.

Luckily, something glittered across the horizon, catching our eyes.

"Is that a town?" I asked, squinting into the distance.

"I think it is!" Lucy joyfully cried.

I stared at our destination in resignation. "So, what's the plan? Ask people if they've seen any strangers about?"

Lucy shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Honestly, how often do you see people like our nakama just walking around?"

"Not very," I smiled. "But, we don't know how big this place is, or if everyone was together or not when they came here."

"True," Lucy concurred. "But, it's probably our best bet."

Suddenly, what looked like a cyclone of dust swirled from one end of the town, forming an arc and landing with a crash that carried over to us on the other side. We stared at the strange phenomenon with slack jaws before glancing at each other.

"Fairy Tail!" we laughed simultaneously.

We started running for the town, Lucy clearly overjoyed that someone, at least, was safe and normal. It took a while, and when we finally reached the first building, we were both out of breath.

"I… hate… running," I gasped.

"Same," Lucy panted. "But… still, though… someone's here!"

"Yeah… Hold on, though." I closed my eyes, and concentrated on the crossbow at my side. "Conceal Magic: Hidden Allies!" Slowly, my weapon dissolved from sight.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you use your magic before," Lucy said, staring at my hip.

"It's not exactly something I parade about," I said.

"Why would you hide your bow, though?"

"I've learned that people tend to avoid armed people, and we wanna talk to them. As soon as I remove it from my belt, though, it'll be visible again."

"Well, let's look for a market or, something. If it's Natsu, the first place he'd go to is a restaraunt."

I smiled at the thought of Lucy's first thought. Never mind that the destruction could have easily been anyone else in the guild; she really cares for her teammate.

"Okay, then, restaraunt it is."

We were on our way to the center of town, when I noticed something rather unsettling.

"Lucy-san, don't you think there are an awful lot of guards here?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking that, too," she muttered. "I hope that idiot didn't do something stupid."

"We've found you, Fairy Tail!" a voice roared.

Guards swarmed all around us, grabbing our arms and hold them behind our backs.

"What the hell!" I cried.

"Let us go!" Lucy demanded.

"You're coming with us!" another guard yelled, completely ignoring us.

"On what charges?" I asked, furious with this injustice.

"You're Lucy, yes?" said the one holding my comrade.

"Yes, I'm Lucy," she answered, "but what is going on here?" Instead of answering her back, they tightened their grip on her arms, causing her to cry out in pain. "That hurts!"

"Get off of us!" I yelled. Twisting around, I pushed one guy holding me away with my legs, causing me to fall to the ground with the other guy. Luckily, he released me when landed with a loud 'clang', and I rolled away, grabbing at my bow, and aiming for the person holding Lucy's right arm.

Somewhere in the background, I heard someone running for us, and yelling something about magic. The voice was unfamiliar, so I ignored it and opened fire.

I had to shoot at the guy's eye, and I was feeling only a little guilty about it as he released Lucy to clutch at his face. Immediately after, Lucy snatched a key with her now freed hand, incanting, "Open! Gate of the Scorpion: Scorpio!"

With a loud gong and gravelly announcement, a man with red and white hair appeared, with a long scorpion-like tail attached. He yelled out, "Sandbuster!" and sand shot out from the end, causing a cyclone similar to what we had seen outside of town to send the guards flying away.

Once the threat was eliminated, he said something about a date, and disappeared with a pop.

"Wow," I breathed. "Lucy, you're kinda amazing, you know?"

Lucy smiled and blushed lightly. "Thanks, but you know that was all Scorpio. You, however, I wouldn't even have been able to grab my key if it weren't for you."

I scoffed. "I only took out one guy," I pointed out. "Not even fully take him out! You and your partner took out a whole-!"

"Lucy!"

The two of us whirled around, and saw Natsu staring at his teammate in disbelief.

'What? Surprised that the princess can take care of herself? Or surprised to have found us? Come on, Natsu, give us some credit!'

Lucy didn't seem to notice, or care. She instantly smiled in relief. "You guys! I missed you so much!" With a shriek of delight, she began running for the dragon-slayer.

As I was not as close to Natsu as she, I merely walked over, seeing who else was with him. Happy, of course, was right by his side, but I was surprised to see another bipedal cat near him. A white one, and clearly female. Not far was an adorable little girl with dark blue pig-tails. She was close to Lucien's height, but something told me she was older than his nine years. I recognized her from Mystogan's past: he regretted leaving her behind, or something to that effect.

And, naturally, not far behind Natsu was Lucy, glowering at us, and WHAT!

"Lucy?!" I cried.

"Me?!" Lucy shrieked.

What the hell was this!


	3. Regrouping

_A/N: I know, I normally put these at the bottom, but I had to say: I placed a theory in here. About the origin of dragon slayers. NOW! I have NOT been caught up with manga in a long time. One of the last chapters I read was only a little after the Games. I know; it's ridiculously behind. That being said, I don't know if this theory of mine has been disproven or not, (I'm willing to bet that it has), but I want NO SPOILERS. Is this understood? The theory is relevant to the time period and what I had actually thought as I read it, but as Jeanne can't see the future, she has no idea that it will be disproven. Or not. Feel free to discuss, if you'd like. But please. NO SPOILERS. Please keep your nostalgic Fairy Tail reminiscing pertinent to the current arc._

 _Okay, I'm done. Onto the chapter!_

* * *

Once I thought it through, I felt like an idiot. Of _course_ there'd be other versions of us in Edolas! That's what Mystogan _was_ \- another version of Jellal! I knew he was from another world, but he had the same face. Why didn't I think that the same would be true for others?

Because I'm an idiot.

Both the Lucies were so shocked at the sight of one another, they just stared for a long time. And of course, the guards caught up to us and surrounded us.

"Let's discuss this later!" the white cat demanded.

...her voice was cutest little tsundere thing I'd ever heard!

Lucy smiled at Natsu. "Alright, Natsu! Hurry up get them!"

Natsu scowled at Lucy. " _How?_ "

Lucy and I stared at him. "What kind of question is _that_?" I asked.

"With your magic, _duh!_ " Lucy retorted.

"We can't _use_ magic!" Natsu explained, with a really irked face. Lucy's jaw dropped low, and I just blanched. "And how come _you two_ can use it?"

"H-How should we know?" Lucy stammered.

Happy and the two new mages begged us to help them. "You're the only ones who can use magic!" the girl pleaded.

A look of amazement passed on Lucy's face. "Could it be?" she whispered. "Am I the strongest now?"

"Whatever! Just do it already!" Natsu demanded, now clearly peeved at how useless he was.

I bit my lip as I stared at the menacing armor before us. "I'll look for weak spots behind them," I told Lucy.

"Alright," she agreed. "See you later!"

I smiled. "You guys should close your eyes," I warned.

"Why would we do such a stupid-?" began Edolas Lucy, but Happy interrupted. "Listen to her!" His own paws were covering his eyes.

After a quick glance to make sure that at least the eyes of my **nakama** were closed, I yelled, "Conceal Magic: Flash Gone!"

And with a bright light, I was invisible. Many of the guards stumbled back, blinking and shaking their heads, and I wasted no time shoving my way past them before they could regain their senses. Once their vision came back, many of them cried out, "She's disappeared! Where did she go? I felt someone pass me!"

"Squad D, go search for her!" one barked, and immediately, about seven to ten guards left us to go look for me, running right past me.

I had to hold back a laugh at the realization that I had thinned the ranks without even lifting a finger.

"She just left her comrades to die!" Edolas Lucy cried out, and I almost threw something at her. Like I would ever do that!

"Like Jeanne would ever do that!" Natsu scoffed.

Thank you!

Lucy grabbed another key and raised it high. "Open! Gate of the Ram: Aries!"

With another poof, Aries appeared again with an apology. And again, the guards were astounded at the sight of magic being performed.

"A person? Is it a demonic being?"

' _The heck is with all these guys? Celestial Magic isn't exactly common, but it's not a unknown magic, either for crying out loud!_

' _Oh, wait… Right, maybe here it is. Limited magic.'_

"Aries! Can you defeat them?" Lucy asked.

The soft-spoken being stammered and flailed around a bit. "Y-yes! I'll do my best!" And she shot out large, pink fluffy cloud, sending many of the guards flying, but they… _moaned?_

' _I mean, yeah, that stuff is deliciously soft,'_ I thought, remembering my encounter with it less than an hour ago. ' _But still! That's just creepy!_

' _Okay, Jeanne, don't let Aries do_ _all_ _the work!'_

As the Ram spirit shot fluffball after fluffball on one side, I crept over the other. I couldn't do much in regards to fighting; multiple opponents are still not my forte. However, I snuck behind one guard, kicked him behind the knees, causing him to buckle down, and bashed the hilt of my crossbow to the side of his head. Once the first guy went down, his comrades started to panic a little.

"A ghost! There's a ghost around!"

I couldn't help it. I seriously couldn't.

"Ooooooh!" I groaned.

Their pale faces. Were. Priceless!

Until I knocked them out with my bow as well.

As I started repeatedly hitting the last guy on my side, I dissolved back into sight.

"Guys! This side's clear!" I yelled.

"Now's our shot!" Lucy cried. "Let's go!"

As we all ran, Natsu cheered for the both of us, and I heard Edolas Lucy mutter, "Is this Earthland's magic?"

WWW

Lucy and I had followed the others into a forest, and after running for what felt like forever, the white cat called out, "We should be okay after running this far, right?"

' _Oh, please, yes!'_ I thought, gasping for breath. I noticed Natsu and the girl were hardly breaking a sweat. ' _Damn Natsu and his dragon-stamina.'_

As we all sat down on fallen logs, Natsu asked, "So, how did you two get to Edolas?"

The girl nodded, adding, "We thought that you were all turned into a lacrima."

I blinked. ' _A lacrima? How would that happen? Can people turn into lacrimas? I'm gonna have to ask Papa when I find him.'_

Lucy answered our **nakama's** query, "Horologium and Mystogan saved me."

And then the Celestial mage gave a quick recap on how her Clock spirit saved her, I showed up, and Mystogan sent us both here.

"But, Jeanne," Happy began, turning to me, "how did you survive?"

"I was just out of town when the beam hit," I answered. Suddenly, a flashback to the destruction came unbidden in my head, making me shudder in fear. "It was horrible to watch…"

The little girl looked to me. "You saw it all?" she asked timidly.

I nodded, and just stared at her, trying to discern her age. ' _She's definitely smaller than Rita, but she's gotta be thirteen,'_ I concluded. ' _Thirteen or fourteen. Wait…'_

"Stop staring at her!" the white cat suddenly demanded, making me and the girl jump.

I blinked. ' _Was I staring?_ _ **Merde.**_ '

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare," I apologized.

"That's just what Jeanne does," Natsu laughed. "When she first came to the guild, it looked like she couldn't get enough of each of us!"

I paled. I know I did, because I suddenly felt very faint. If even _Natsu,_ the guild's proclaimed 'most oblivious,' noticed my staring, then there was no chance nobody else did. Of course, back then, only the Master knew _why_ I was staring, and I didn't have my glasses when I first joined. I didn't realize it somehow became a habit, or even a 'Fairy Tail quirk.'

"Jeanne- **san** ," Lucy asked quietly, touching my shoulder. "Are you okay? You don't look so well."

I shook my head; clearing it, not answering her question. "No, yeah, I'm fine. Just remembering…" I left it at that, hoping they'll think I mean our city's transportation. I looked back to the girl, whose identity I was sure of, now. "Are you guys Wendy and Charle?"

The girl suddenly became very shy, and nodded her head. She was just so adorable, I couldn't help but smile. Her actions reminded me of four-year-old Tessy, one of the twins. Charle, however, reminded me of Benoit when he didn't get what he want. I decided to keep both observations to myself. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jeanne de'Vajell."

At that, Edolas Lucy whipped her head to me, looking very suspicious. I noticed this, but didn't say anything about it. My guess was that she knows, or knows of, the Edolas me. Her reaction did not really bode well, though.

Happy piped up. "Why is it that you two can use magic?"

Lucy thought about it for maybe two seconds before excitedly saying, "Maybe it's 'cause we're, like, the chosen warriors!"

"Not seeing it," Natsu immediately deadpanned.

Lucy crumpled, muttering, "So much for self-confidence."

I mentally rolled my eyes, because, honestly, I was with Natsu. No way was _I_ a chosen one, anyway. I decided to be the voice of reason. "If Natsu can't use magic, we're kinda at a disadvantage, aren't we?"

"You people seriously plan going against the kingdom?" Edolas Lucy asked.

Natsu looked at her like she was crazy. "Of course we are!"

"We'll do it for our **nakama!** " Happy cheerfully proclaimed.

Edolas Lucy frowned in disbelief. "You can't even use magic for real, and you're fighting the kingdom?"

"Hey!" Earthland Lucy nearly shouted. "Jeanne- **san** and I _can_ use it!" She grabbed me off the log and stuck my hand in the air, like declaring a winner. "Just leave it all to Fairy Tail's currently strongest mages! I'm all fired up!"

I started to laugh. Lucy released my hand and started striking poses, much to Wendy's delight and Natsu's irritation. I rose my hands in the air, leaving Lucy to be weird on her own, as I took my seat again. I glanced at Edolas Lucy, who was staring at her counterpart with calculation.

"By the way, what was that about a lacrima?" I asked, talking about Wendy's worry. "How can people be turned into one?"

Natsu and Wendy immediately sobered up. "When Edolas stole Magnolia," the fire mage began, "the process turned them into a lacrima."

"Wait a sec," I held up a hand. "So you four weren't sucked up into the portal? Why is that?"

Wendy answered me. "We believe it's because we're dragon slayers. That's really the only connection that we have."

I frowned. "And what about you two?" I asked turning to Happy and Charle.

"We didn't because we're originally from here," Charle stated. "We were sent to Earthland as eggs."

I thought about this. That would explain why Mystogan wasn't transported back here, but the fact that the dragon slayers also didn't… But, no, it wasn't possible that they were from Edolas, too. Natsu had too many memories.

...Right?

' _Holy crap, what if they_ _were_ _from here? That would explain the whole, no one's ever seen a dragon but these guys just happen to have been raised by them. Should I…? Nah, no need to bring it up. I guess it_ _is_ _possible that it's just 'cause they're dragon… slayers. Wait.'_

"Then where's Gajeel?" I asked. "And how did you get here?"

"Charle and Happy flew us through the portal," Wendy answered. "I don't know where Gajeel- **san** is, though. We haven't seen him."

"So, he's probably still in Earthland, huh?" I muttered.

"I hope Mystogan finds him, then," Lucy said. We all nodded in agreement.

Edolas Lucy stood up. "It should be safe to move again. Let's get you guys to Sycca. I know a hotel where the owner won't ask a whole lot of questions."

With that, we followed our strange guide. Along the way, Natsu and Wendy told Lucy and me everything that had happened from when they flew through the portal to now.

WWW

It took the rest of the day, but we made it to the town of Sycca, where Edo-Lucy led us to a hotel, and bartered or argued with the owner. She returned to us with a triumphant smirk.

"I got us all in for a bargain. But you boys are going to have to sleep on a couch," she added, turning to Natsu and Happy. "I could only get two rooms with two beds each, and that is going to have to be reserved for the girls. Now! Who wants a bath?"

"Oh, gods, yes!" Lucy groaned.

I wholeheartedly agreed. The three of us all joined each other in the communal bath. It was a little weird for me, because I hadn't bathed with another person since I was twelve, and that was just showers with Rita. Once I turned thirteen and started developing, Mama made me go solo.

So, I felt extremely self-conscious as I watched the Lucies - who, by the way, look freakin' flawless - scrub themselves down. That was one of the reasons I kept my eyes away from them as I went through my own cleansing ritual.

"Absolutely the same," I heard Edo-Lucy remark. "We're look one hundred percent the same!"

"Well, it's to be expected, isn't it?" Lucy answered. "We are the same person, just not."

"That's makes no sense, Lucy- **san** ," I chuckled, rebraiding my damp hair. I kept my back to them, as I had left my glasses in the common room.

As I reached for my hair tie, one of the Lucies ran past me, saying, "I've got to show this off!"

"Wait, get back here! Don't go showing of my naked body!"

"It's mine, too, isn't it?"

I rolled my eyes with a smile as I finished with my hair and grabbed the hotel-provided sleepwear: a powder blue button up two-piece. I joined the rest of them as Edo-Lucy was saying, "I couldn't believe we even have the same ass!"

"Will you cut that out!" Lucy shrieked.

Natsu suddenly jumped up and attempted to do a one-man mirror act, saying how easy it would be for those two to do it.

"Actually," Happy cut in, "it's like Gemini was summoned!"

"Hey, you're right!" his best friend agreed.

When Edo-Lucy expressed confusion, Lucy summoned the Spirit to show what they mean.

"Haha! So cool!" Natsu crowed. "We could do one of those party games now!"

"This isn't some game!" all three Lucies cried, though Gemini-Lucy was clearly only doing it for fun.

"Do you think you could put some clothes on, now?" Charle asked.

Gemini disappeared with a pop, and the other two Lucies sprinted for the bathroom. I smiled as I grabbed my glasses from next to the map on the table.

"I'm curious," I began, "what are _your_ counterparts like?"

"Dunno," Natsu answered. "Mine wasn't there. Wendy's looked suuuper different, though."

Wendy's face grew really red, and she started stuttering softly, "So b-big… she was s-so…"

"Didn't see yours, either, now that I think of it," Natsu added.

"Hmm," I said, noncommittally. A me that wasn't part of the guild? Well, that could've meant a number of things. Part of me hoped that I never met her, though.

When the Lucies came in wearing the same set of pajamas as I, Natsu pointed out that it was still rather hard to tell them apart.

"You don't happen to have a spirit thing for hairstyles, do you?" Edo-Lucy joked.

"Actually, I do!" Lucy smiled, and she summoned the Crab Spirit, Cancer.

Within seconds, Edo-Lucy was clearly different than Earth-Lucy, sporting a very cute, short bob. "Yeah, this should make things a lot simpler," she declared.

"Is it okay being that short, though?" Lucy asked.

I frowned in confusion. ' _Why wouldn't it be? That looks adorable! Maybe I should get mine cut, too.'_ It was starting to feel ridiculously long.

Edo-Lucy seemed to share my confusion. "Does Earthland have a custom for taking care of your hair, or something?"

"Well, all girls seem to have the same mindset, ebi," Cancer provided.

' _Ha! That's right, they do! Man, I totally forgot what girls like Haley would do if a single strand fell out of place!'_

"Girls, huh?" Edo-Lucy smiled bitterly. "Here, you'd just be stupid to think of yourself as a 'boy' or a 'girl.' We've got enough to handle just surviving…"

There was something about the way she spoke that seemed so… sobering. Was the kingdom truly so horrible?

"But," Happy began, "everyone in the guild looked like they were having so much fun."

"Well, of course," Edo-Lucy laughed. "If we didn't force ourselves to keep laughing, our hearts would probably break. And besides, there are still people that need us, even in this world. So, even if we're 'Dark' we've got to keep the guild going."

She lowered her voice, muttering something to herself. Lucy asked for clarification, but her counterpart just shook her head, saying it was nothing.

"Well, I don't about you guys," I started, "but I'm exhausted. And I think we should get an early start tomorrow, so 'bout we all turn in?"

"Sounds good to me," Lucy said. "Who wants what room?"

The Lucies ended up bunking together and Wendy, Charle, and I shared the other.

WWW

Even though I was the one who had said that we should get an early start, I still wasn't the first to wake. We all woke up to the shrieking voice of Lucy.

"I can't believe this!"

Wendy and I ran into the common room, where Lucy was trembling with anger as she held a note, and Natsu was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"The Edolas me ran away!" Lucy yelled, shoving the note into my hands.

"'If you walk for three days east,'" I read aloud, "'you'll reach the Royal City. I'm returning to the guild. Later. I wish you the best of luck.'"

"I thought she was going to help up!" Lucy seethed. "What nerve!"

"We can't do anything about it," Wendy said. "She had said from the beginning that she didn't intend to fight."

"I won't forgive her!" Lucy furiously declared. "I wouldn't forgive myself, so I can't forgive her!"

"What does it matter?" Natsu asked.

"Of course it matters!" Lucy yelled.

"Lucy- **san** , she has her own guild to think about," I sighed. "She was already risking so much just by being with us. It's totally unfair to ask her to suddenly abandon and endanger her **nakama**. If you were in her shoes, wouldn't you do the same?"

"No, I wouldn't!" Lucy claimed. "Because if there was a way I could help others and myself by fighting this lousy government, I'd _do it!_ "

' _Yeah, she totally would…'_

I, too, was a little disappointed that Edo-Lucy just up and left. Still, though, I could understand her reasons.

Because if fighting put my **kazoku** in danger, then there was no way _I_ would be able to do it.

* * *

 _A/N II: Remember, no spoilers._


	4. Attack and Retreat

We all trailed behind an elated Lucy, slightly freaked due to her high spirits.

"It's because she found that rare book in the bookstore, right?" Wendy asked.

I glanced over at the way Lucy was walking - skipping happily, humming a cheery tune, and hugging her newest tome possessively to her chest. "Probably," I answered, self-consciously picking at my shirt. Edo-Lucy had somehow added clothes to the deal, and Lucy and I each got a change of wardrobe. My only problem was that the outfit I had was a lavender-colored tank, with royal blue capris to go with it. I hadn't worn such light colors in over two years! I felt _horribly_ exposed!

"What kind of book did you get?" Natsu asked his partner.

"A book on the history of this world!" Lucy cheerfully replied. "I bet you guys want to know about this world, too, right?"

"Not really," Natsu answered, dispassionately.

"This book's got everything!" Lucy continued, paying the Salamander no mind. "This world is fascinating! For example, the Exceed race are written about in here!"

"Oh, I'd like to know more about them," Wendy said. "Though, they seemed to be rather feared here."

"I said I didn't care," said Natsu.

' _Then you don't have to listen…'_ I thought with an eyeroll.

Suddenly, a large shadow covered the entire street. We all glanced up, and saw a huge airship flying low. It seemed it was just about to land. Immediately afterwards, soldiers started filling up the streets, yelling out orders to each other.

"Quick! Hide!" Wendy ordered, shoving us all into an alleyway.

As we all sat close to the wall, we heard a guard explaining what was going on.

"They've finally decided a date to extract the magic from that giant lacrima!" he said. "Day after tomorrow!"

"Ah," his comrade replied. "So that's why we're being recruited now?"

"Forget that!" another called out. "This is the chance of a lifetime!"

"Day after tomorrow?" Lucy whispered. "We can't make it to the city in time if we walk there!"

"Then how about we use the airship?" I asked. Everyone looked at me in surprise, so I continued, "I can sneak us all on, and we can hide for, at the most, two hours. It shouldn't take that long to get to the city, right?"

"Why don't we just steal it?" Natsu countered.

Now everyone stared at him. Charle stuttered, "Th-that shouldn't be necessary, right? It should be enough to sneak on board, shouldn't it?"

"I hate hiding," Natsu answered bluntly, completely shooting down my idea.

And, yes, I admit it; for a moment, it hurt. Then I remembered to whom I was talking. Of _course_ , Natsu wouldn't want to hide out for two hours. He was a 'punch first, question later' kind of guy. What was I thinking, suggesting that he actually lay low for over fifteen minutes?

' _I was thinking that, maybe, I could be helpful for once…_

' _Hey! None of that, brain! No self-deprecating, remember?'_

"It's rare that you'd actually be willing to use transportation," Happy pointed out.

' _Oh, yeah, there's that, too… Maybe that's the real reason why Natsu didn't go for it.'_

But the Fire Dragon Slayer just grinned and said, "As long as I have Wendy's Troia, I'll be fine!"

' _Wait, what? Troia? Fine? You've got a remedy for motion sickness? And you still…! Hey, calm down. He really does hate hiding, after all._

' _Because it's a cowardly thing to do in his mind…'_

Then Wendy reminded Natsu, "We can't use magic, remember?"

The effect of those words were immediate. Natsu paled and started sweating, before muttering, "I take that plan back…"

"No, I say we do it," Lucy argued. "We've got to get to the city fast, and taking the airship will be the best way." She turned to me. "Jeanne- **san** , can you really sneak us all on?"

I blinked. Were we back to my idea? What was wrong with brute force? No, wait - why was I thinking about it? This was my chance!

"Yes. I can definitely do that. Just one thing," I added. "You'd all have to be quiet. I can only hide from sight. If any of us makes a sound, we'll be caught."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Lucy promised.

"Are you sure?" Charle asked. "If the Salamander gets sick on the ship, won't his moaning tip someone off?"

We all thought about how Natsu usually acts on transportation - groaning; lots of loud groaning.

"Yeah," I began, "on second thought, maybe ensuring we're the only passengers on there would be best."

"But how do we do that?" Wendy asked.

At that, Lucy gleamed proudly. "Have you forgotten? I'm the strongest member, now. Just leave it to me!" She grabbed a key from her ring, and started charging at the troop. "Open! Gate of the Lion: Leo!"

There was a bright flash, and a pink-haired maid with shackles on her wrists appeared.

'… _That is_ _not_ _Loke.'_

"Virgo?" Natsu gaped.

Lucy was just as confused. "What's going on?" she anxiously demanded of her Spirit.

"My apologies, Princess," Virgo answered. " **Onii** - **chan** is on a date right now, and cannot be summoned."

Lucy opened her mouth soundlessly a few times before managing, " **O** - **onii** … **chan**?"

"Yes," Virgo stoically replied. "Leo- **sama** asked that I address him as such earlier."

"That idiot!" Lucy wailed. At that point, the guards recognized Lucy's face, and began their attack. "Crap!" Lucy swore. "I was counting on Loke to beat them all up!"

"Princess, with your permission," the Maid Spirit began, "if i use my full power… I can dance!" She demonstrated her skills in the act, causing Lucy close her gate angrily.

The guards closed around us, and Natsu and Wendy took out the magic items they had bought before Lucy and I met up with them. Unfortunately, they were unable to properly use them, and were quickly overpowered.

" **Merde** ," I whimpered, as the soldiers came closer. Without thinking, I charged for them, yelling wordlessly as I pulled back a fist. Using the palm of my hands, I uppercutted a few enemies, and kicked a few others away. I couldn't see what was happening to the others, and I was spinning around aimlessly, trying to keep an eye out for them, and trying to keep the soldiers away from me.

Unsurprisingly, I got too overwhelmed. In the corner of my eye, I saw the guy grabbing for my arms, but it didn't register as a threat until after I was pinned to the ground, my arms pulled painfully back, and my head smashed into the cobblestone.

With tears in my eyes, I could see Natsu in the same situation, and Wendy being held by her wrists, crying out in pain. Lucy was behind me somewhere, and the Exceeds were nowhere to be found. Helplessly, we watched the airship take off, shrinking in size as it left us all behind.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake, and through the earth, I could hear a rumbling, a roaring. It grew only louder, and seemed to be heading towards us. Natsu looked somewhere beyond me, eyes squinting to make out whatever it was.

"What the…?" I heard him mutter, before the roaring was replaced with screeching, and dust flew all around us. Many soldiers were somehow thrown to the side, and some knocked into the ones holding us captive, making them release us.

I stood up at once, spinning to face our savior, and a magic four-wheeler awaited. It reminded me of a small ship on wheels, with wooden panelling and metal supports. It was dark red in color, and bore the black symbol of Fairy Tail.

' _Who the hell would drive that in this world?'_ I found myself thinking.

A window rolled down, and a voice called out, "I heard from Lucy. Get in!"

The others all cheered as they ran to the vehicle. I, too, was smiling in relief, but at the same time, I couldn't help but think, ' _That voice… Where have I heard that voice?'_

We all piled in, Lucy in the front with Happy on her lap, and the rest of us in the back with me in the middle.

"We're gonna fly. Don't fall out," the driver warned, shifting gears and pulling levers.

Immediately, the four-wheeler lurched forward, and Natsu turned green and began groaning. The driver yanked on the wheel, and we sharply turned the corners. Natsu retched with every sudden movement. I glanced at him sideways, suddenly reminded of Lucien. Several years back, the family went on a road trip, and Lucien, who was five at the time, also got terrible motion sickness. Mama had helped him feel a little better with a simple solution, but I wasn't sure if Natsu would be willing to do the same. However, when the flame mage released another gagging sound, I got fed up.

" **Ah, bonne mère** ," I muttered. "Natsu, get over here." I pulled the fire dragon slayer down by his scarf, forcing his head on my lap. "Just close your eyes, and breathe through your nose," I said softly, running my fingers through his hair. "It'll be over soon."

Natsu's eyes had widened in surprise when I had pulled at him, and he looked back at me in derision - as much as he could muster, I supposed, looking as ill as he did - and I just stared back at him expectantly, waiting for him to follow orders. Thankfully he did, facing the front of the vehicle again, and I resumed my ministrations through his hair, just like Mama had done for Lucien. Soon, he turned more white than green, and his groaning subsided a little.

Shortly afterwards, we had left the city, and were now driving in a straight line. The lurching had ceased, but the feeling of constant movement remained.

"We're out!" Happy cheerfully cried.

"Thank you for saving us," Lucy and Wendy chorused.

Natsu remained silent, and I followed suit, trying stay as still as possible for him. Instead, I took this chance to study our driver. When I got in, I had seen that he had goggles covering half his face, and now the headrest blocked a good portion of my view of him. Once I tilted my head a bit to get a better look, though, I saw pink hair on top his head.

' _Wait a second… Isn't this…?'_

"You're going to the Royal City, right?" he said, a smug smile clearly heard in his tone. "This will be faster than that beat-up airship."

' _Yep. Definitely is. Wow, now isn't that ironic?'_

"Let me introduce myself," he began, lifting his goggles. "Fairy Tail's fastest man, 'Fireball' Natsu."

Everyone's jaws hit their laps, and repeated the name in disbelief. Our Natsu's eyes snapped open, and he gave out a weak-sounding, "M-me?" I brushed my fingers over his eyes to make him close them again.

Edo-Natsu smirked as he gave Lucy a once-over. "Just as Lucy said: the spitting image. And is that the other me?" he added, glancing over his shoulder. "Ha, lame."

"Our Natsu can't handle transportation," Wendy gently defended.

"Is that really supposed to be me?" Edo-Natsu asked rhetorically, with a shake of his head. "As my nickname implies, I'm a mage that specializes in deliveries."

' _...I didn't get that implication. How is that implied?'_

"Amazing," said Happy, awe-struck. "This four-wheeler doesn't have an SE plug!"

' _ **Bah, oui**_ _,'_ I thought with another mental eyeroll.

"Well, the people here don't have magic power themselves," Lucy pointed out, "so having a self energy plug would be kind of pointless."

"So the car runs on magic alone?" Wendy asked.

"Interesting," Charle mused. "It seems Edolas' cars are more advanced that Earthland's."

Suddenly, Edo-Natsu slammed on the brakes and jerked the wheel. We all cried out in surprise as the car drifted before coming to a stop.

"Hey, what was that all of a sudden?" Lucy asked angrily.

"Magic is a finite resource," Edo-Natsu answered her. "Which means that magic fuel is limited, too. It's tricky to get now… So, this is as far as I can take you. Get out."

Lucy and Happy cried out in protest, looking out at the barren wasteland we had stopped in. Natsu, though, slowly started inching his way off my lap. Edo-Natsu continued, "If I go any farther, I won't make it back to the guild. They went and transferred again, and I gotta find 'em."

At this point, Natsu made it out of the four-wheeler, and started loudly praising his liveliness and the solid ground.

"Looks like the other me catches on quick," said Edo-Natsu. "All of you, out!" He pushed a button on the dashboard, and three of the doors swung open, and all our seats tipped us out. When all of us were on the ground, Edo-Natsu had a few final words for us. "Go ahead and rise up against the kingdom if you want, but leave us out of it," he warned. "I helped you this time because _my_ Lucy asked me to, but I'm not getting my hands dirty."

"Oi!"

Our Natsu had walked up to the passenger side of the car, and the two mages shared an intense glance. Then, Natsu reached in and grabbed his counterpart's arms, dragging him away from the wheel, saying, "You get out, too!"

Edo-Natsu's face immediately changed from cool and collected to shocked and anxious. "What the hell are you-?" he began.

"I've got words for you, other me!" Natsu explained.

"St-stop it! L-let me go! Put me down!" Edo-Natsu cried.

The dragon slayer complied, plopping his other self unceremoniously on the ground. He towered menacingly over his prey. "Tell me," he began in an ominous tone, before reaching down eye level, asking, "how do you deal with the transportation like that?"

Edo-Natsu suddenly threw his arms over his head in a defensive move, and began whimpering.

' _Wait, what?'_

"I… I… I'm sorry! I don't know either!" he cried.

No, really. He, _cried._ Tears, out of his eyes!

It was such an un-Natsu thing, that we were momentarily speechless.

"Are… are you really the same guy from before?" Natsu asked in disbelief.

"Y-Yes!" the tearful mage answered. "I've been told my personality changes when I get behind the wheel!"

"This is the real Edo-Natsu!" Happy cried.

At the loud voice, Edo-Natsu cringed, and whimpered, "Please don't yell! It's s-scary…!"

Natsu just stared in absolute shock, and Lucy jibed, "Wanna do a mirror act together?"

"I'm sorry!" repeated Edo-Natsu.

...All right, what I'm about to share with you is not something I'm proud of. I mean, maybe a little; but believe me, when I think back on it, I'm embarrassed as hell.

At the sight of this Natsu's tears, something in me snapped. And the whole time these guys were talking, I had been fighting this powerful urge. But his last heartfelt apology triggered a flashback, when Rita and I got separated in a large crowd. When I found her, she was curled up by wall, holding her head, whispering unheard apologies to everyone. It wasn't until much later I realized she had been unintentionally hearing other people's thoughts, and definitely not liking what she heard. So, naturally, I gathered my little sister up in a hug to comfort her, keep her safe.

Which is exactly what I did to Edo-Natsu.

Since we were about the same size, it's wasn't quite the same, but I still knelt beside him and shielded his head from what I felt were clearly bullying words. I felt him tense the moment I touched him, but I paid it no mind.

"All right, leave him alone!" I snapped at the others. Now, they stared at _me_ in shock. I continued, "Give him a moment to get his bearings, but quit harassing him!"

Edo-Natsu raised his head to look at me. " **Ane-ue**?" he whispered.

Confused, I looked back at him, and he ducked his head down, "I'm sorry, I'm mistaken."

"It's all right," I said to him, softly. "But, is this really as far as you can take us?"

He nodded his head. "I really can't go further. I only came this far because Lucy- **san** asked me to."

"It's okay," Wendy assured, "you don't have to force yourself."

"It doesn't seem like you'd be much help, anyway."

"Charle!"

Edo-Natsu smiled gently at the Sky Dragon Slayer. "Excuse me, are you Wendy- **san**?" When Wendy nodded her confirmation, he continued, "Wow, you're so small and cute! And you," he turned to Natsu, "you're really **boku-san** , the other me?"

Natsu frowned. "What's with all the ' **san** 's?" he asked, disgruntled.

"And you are…?" he trailed away, facing me.

"Jeanne de'Vajell," I supplied.

" **Yahari** ," he whispered.

" **Quoi**?"

"No, nothing. Never mind!"

Lucy tentatively piped up, "Um, and I guess you know who I am?"

Edo-Natsu jumped behind me with a shriek, and peeked at Lucy fearfully, crying, "I'm sorry! I'll do whatever you say!"

"Oi, take it easy on me over there, huh?" Natsu berated his partner, who slumped in disappointment.

"What the hell does she _do_ to you?" I asked under my breath referring to this world's Lucy. She seemed like a rough around the edges kind of person, but this Natsu was just terrified of her!

"Our Lucy- **san** asked me to carry all the way over here, so that's what I did," Edo-Natsu whimpered.

"Hey, it's okay," I whispered, going back into 'comfort mode.' "No one here's mad at you. But where is here?"

Edo-Natsu just looked at me in confusion, before taking my hand and leading us all to the edge of a cliff. "Here," he replied, gesturing the amazing sight.

It was a giant city! Filled with buildings and walls, and towering castle smack in the middle of it all! We all stared in awe, and Natsu slung an arm over his counterpart's shoulders.

"The hell, man!" he cried cheerfully. "If we'd already arrived, just tell us that!"

"I'm so sorry!" the other him fearfully replied.

Natsu released himself and stared back at the city. "This is great. I didn't think we'd get there so soon!"

"Somewhere down there is the lacrima holding our friends…" Lucy whispered.

"Let's go then," Charle stated.

Everyone said their good-byes to the Edo-Natsu, but he still held onto my wrist. "Are… are you guys really going to fight against the kingdom?"

Natsu replied for me, "Don't really know. We're just here to rescue our friends. But, if they won't give 'em back easily, then we won't have a choice but to fight!"

Edo-Natsu stared at his other self for a moment before looking down shamefully. "There's no winning against the kingdom."

Natsu just grinned before running down to catch up with the others.

"If you tell him it can't be done," I began, "it just fires him up more. He accepts the challenge. And he'll do it." I smiled. "Besides, if it were your **nakama** , wouldn't you try to do everything you could to get them back home, safe and sound?"

"I… don't know if I would," he muttered.

"Of course you would," I assured. "If you were able, I'm sure you would get in that car and crash through every single wall of that castle just to get to Lucy."

"You really think so, **ane-ue**?"

I frowned again. 'Honorable sister…?'

"Why do you call me that?"

"You're **la Soeur de la Vale** ," he replied. "The Big Sister of the Little People! Lucy- **san** doesn't like you… She thinks you're the reason Knightwalker finds us often."


End file.
